Boom!

The ringing of the bell interrupted the conversation between the two, and a glance at Maria Ernst, who was almost ready, shook the bell beside the bed, and several maids soon entered the door, and they would make some decoration for Maria's outfit. There were still more than 20 minutes before the banquet was held, and Ernst was ready to go to the banquet hall, after all, there were many distinguished guests there, and it was not suitable for his host not to show up.

Ernst's arrival made the otherwise lively banquet much quieter, but as Ernst talked to several high-ranking nobles from Germany and the Russian Empire, the banquet returned to its previous appearance, except that they were more or less attentive to Ernst's every move here.

Directly north of the ballroom there were two chairs, the chairs of Ernst and Maria, and this was Maria's first appearance as Empress of the Czech Duchy, so it was logical that she should have met with the nobles of the Czech Duchy. It was actually a small banquet venue, and the nobles of Russia, Germany, and the Czech principalities were among the best of the world, while the ordinary nobles were still waiting outside in the big hall.

"Just ......"

"They'll take care of it."

Nicholas II nodded when he heard this, he naturally knew what it meant to be properly arranged, presumably those few people should not end well! This is also self-inflicted, knowing that the Czech Duchy is not Germany or Austria-Hungary, and the environment here is not as free as they imagined.

Nicholas II knew very well what should be said and what should be said, and after a casual conversation, Nicholas II shifted the topic to the end of the First World War. Or to transfer to the German generals, the Royal Czech Army Academy and the Ministry of Defense suddenly increased a lot of military advisers during this period, which undoubtedly attracted the attention of Britain and the United States to a great extent.

When Nicholas II spoke of his concerns, Ernst looked at him with confusion. As if guessing what Ernst meant, Nicholas II was a little unhappy: "The New Russian Empire and the Czech Duchy are one, and without the Czech Duchy, there will be no New Russian Empire, and no matter where I say it, I always hope that the Czech Duchy can be stable and peaceful......

The truth of Ernst's words is not clear, but in some ways it is worth believing, but unfortunately this does not affect Nicholas II much, because Ernst is not destined to give him any chance to take power, even if he is no longer wary of him.

Ernst's attitude said everything, shaking his head, Nicholas II turned his face and said nothing more. It was a good intention, but it was misunderstood and believed that no one would be in a good mood, but not to mention Ernst, even anyone who believes here will not easily believe in Nicholas II, you must know that people who have sat on the throne are generally extremely cunning.

Perhaps it was because of the embarrassment here, a duke from Germany interrupted the two with a hearty laugh, and he shifted the topic to himself: "I have been in the Czech Duchy for a while, and the business atmosphere here is also very strong, the only pity is that there is no ocean trade, and now the Soviet Union is still blocking ...... in the middle"

The German duke's concern is very obvious, the new Russian Empire is actually a colony of the Czech principality in a sense, but the communication between the two is very difficult now, after all, the Soviet Union is not easy to provoke, especially at this time.

Frowning slightly, Ernst naturally knew that there was no good solution to this matter. The New Russian Empire did have ports, but the Czech principality was completely on land, and the only way to trade in the ocean was through the Soviet Union to the New Russian Empire, but now the diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the Czech principality are ......

"The defeat of the Allies has left us completely trapped on Europa, and unless we make some compromises with Britain and the United States, our economic space will only get smaller and smaller."

Massena didn't know when he came to Ernst's side, and he was saying something he had been thinking about since Germany began to show defeat last year, but it was clear that there was no solution to it.

Just when Ernst didn't know how to reply, Bert stood not far away and nodded lightly to signal that the banquet was about to begin, at this time there was a commotion behind him, and when he turned around, it turned around and sure enough, Maria appeared not far behind Ernst in luxurious decorations, and the duchesses and princes from Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic were greeting her very warmly.

Looking at Maria Ernst who was smiling at him, he smiled slightly, and then approached and waited for Maria to take his arm and go to their seats together.

The banquet officially began, and the local nobles from Germany, Russia, and the Czech principality came to the small venue one after another, which was a rare opportunity for them to meet Ernst in person. At the same time, these aristocratic ladies are carrying the adult generation of their own families, after all, this is also a good opportunity to choose a husband for them.

To Ernst's left was Prince Flanders, who was the perfect person to accompany Ernst, as well as two young counts of the Czech principality, both of whom had sworn allegiance to Ernst and were young and talented, and even had the rank of colonel on their shoulders.

The nobles of the Czech principality were not exempt from military service, but unlike ordinary nobles, they were at least second lieutenants once they joined the army, but they were distinguished by their graduation faculties, whether they were civilian or military, and the two behind Ernst were both officers of the main regiment of the Shohachijing.

Unlike other countries, joining the army is a benefit for the nobility of the Czech principality, and at the same time it is one of their prospects, and the only way to get a knighthood or a knighthood is to get a military merit, of course, if you are the prime minister of the cabinet or have a very outstanding contribution, then the royal family will not skimp on a knighthood.

The difference between the new aristocracy and the old aristocracy in the Czech principality is naturally the younger generation promoted by Ernst, while the old aristocracy is those members of the aristocracy before the establishment of the Czech principality. Compared with the old nobles, the new nobles of the younger generation are naturally the descendants, and they enjoy much more privileges than the old nobles.

If before the war there were old nobles watching, now they have made up their minds to lean towards Ernst, because they know very well that what Ernst needs to do after the external war is over is to put the internal affairs in order, and there is no doubt that they are the core part of the internal rectification.

A large number of old nobles sent the younger generation of their families to the Army Academy, and then the privileges were not as great as those of the new nobles, but at least they were much better than ordinary citizens. In fact, the Royal Czech Army Academy is a typical teaching class, no matter how delicate you are and how extraordinary your personality is, as long as you come here, the instructors of the Royal Army Academy can always train you to be a typical German officer carved out of a mold.

This can actually be seen as the nobles enter the door, and most of the young nobles among them are upright, cold, and solemn to accept Ernst's inspection. Because these people's banquets are no longer like banquets, but have some military parade meanings, which makes those older nobles very awkward.

Most of the nobles were people Ernst had never met, especially their families. The smile on Maria's face never stopped, and it was something she had to do, even though her face was already starting to show signs of stiffness.

"This is Count Linthal from Germany!"

"This is Count Konstantin from Russia!"

"It's from ......"

Bert, who was beside him, had been quietly helping Ernst introduce the origins of these nobles, looking at their faces with a smile of satisfaction and hypocrisy, and although Ernst was very annoyed, he still had to nod and deal with them kindly.

Before he knew it, hundreds of nobles appeared in front of Ernst and then disappeared, after all, the small hall could not accommodate too many people, and under normal circumstances, they came to Ernst and saluted before meeting and then left from another corridor, including those high-ranking nobles who had just been in the small hall.

If Ernst were present in the external auditorium at this time, it would be clear that the whole banquet was divided into two types, one was the old nobles from Russia, Germany and the Czech principality, and the other was the younger and much newer nobles promoted by Ernst.

They were not without contradictions, after all, the new aristocracy had greatly reduced the living space of the old aristocracy because of the support of Ernst, and at the same time they also changed the traditional way of life of the nobles. Nowadays, it is no longer realistic to continue to live in luxury in an old castle, go out for a walk in their spare time, invite friends to their own banquets, and they also need to start working, especially in the military.

The military service in the Czech principality was not like that of Britain and France, where the nobles only needed to be nominally soldiers, and the officers of the Czech principality, regardless of their status, needed to take the lead in going to the front.

Are you a Count? Excuse me, but there are only military ranks and no knighthoods here. Perhaps the only benefit of your knighthood is the ability to carry more food like jerky, and you can't run to a safe place unless you're a civilian officer. Of course, civilian officers in the Czech principality are not so safe, because the generals of the Czech principality like to set up the headquarters at the forefront, and perhaps the first thing the enemy hits is the headquarters.